Today you’re going to Get to Know Your Cookie Dough
So from now on you can make your vegan cookie dough exactly the way you love your chocolate chip cookies the most!
When it comes to cookies are you a thin and crispy person or a soft and chewy lover? Or maybe you are like me and want all of those things rolled into one!
Starting with the iconic Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe by none other than Ruth Wakefield herself
We are first going to veganize this classic and then make two other variations, so you can see first hand how tweaked just an ingredient or two can alter the outcome of your vegan cookie dough!
One variation makes a Thin and Crispy cookie and the other will give you thick, chewy and soft batch cookies!
Be sure to watch the full video tutorial where I break down all of the ingredients in the cookie recipe so you can understand why certain ingredients give you different end results!
CLICK HERE FOR THE YOUTUBE VIDEO DEMO
Notes for Success:
There are three recipes listed below for each variety and all the base ingredients are the same with the only difference in the flour and mix method
Aquafaba, cornstarch, flax combination is my choice for the egg replacer in most cookie recipes, but you can use another egg replacer of your choice equivalent to two eggs
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure, so while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
The Toll House Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies called for 2¼ cups of flour, however in my experiments over the years I have found that adding additional flour to the original recipes to compensate for the missing eggs seems to help the structure of vegan bakes almost more than the egg replacer itself!
Except for the variety made with bread flour and melted butter which must be chilled before scooping, I did not chill the dough for the other two varieties
Some people like to chill the dough before baking to prevent excess spreading of the cookie dough, but if your formula for the dough is correct you will not have to worry about that at all!
Weighing your ingredients will be the best way to ensure your formula is correct with consistent perfect results every time
My favorite variety is the Thick and Chewy variety made with Bread Flour and melted vegan butter combo!
*Here’s a secret if you can’t get bread flour, it still works pretty great with all purpose!
All of the tools I am using for this recipe are listed here!
*I am an Amazon affiliate so by clicking through my unique links I make a few extra pennies! Thanks!
- Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Light Brown Sugar ¾ (150g)
- Aquafaba ¼ cup (60ml) warmed to 100°F
- Ground Flax Meal 2 Tablespoons (16g)
- Cornstarch 2 teaspoons (3g)
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon
- Water 1 teaspoon
- All Purpose Flour 2½ cups + 2 Tablespoons (328g)
- Baking Powder ½ teaspoon
- Salt 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
- Chocolate Chips 2 cups (336g)
- Chopped Nuts 1 cup (125g)
- First whisk together the warm aquafaba, flax and cornstarch and set aside
- Sift together the all purpose flour. salt and baking powder
- Combine the baking soda with the water and whisk smooth
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper
- In the work bowl on an electric mixer combine the soft yet cool vegan butter with both sugars and cream on medium to high speed until light & fluffy
- This usually takes 3-5 minutes while stopping to scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the aquafaba mixture while continuing to mix on medium speed, then whip on high speed for 10 seconds to emulsify
- Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl again
- Now add half of the sifted flour mixture mixing on low speed just to combine and then add the baking soda solution mixing to combine
- Now add the rest of the flour and mix just until combined
- Add the chopped nuts & chocolate chips and mix well while adding the vanilla extract last
- Scoop the cookie dough with a 2ounce cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined sheet pan spaced 2½ inches apart (one 12" x 18" sheet pan bakes 12 cookies perfectly)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or golden browned
Freeze raw dough balls for up to 2 months in a ziploc bag
- Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Light Brown Sugar ¾ (150g)
- Aquafaba ¼ cup (60ml)
- Ground Flax Meal 2 Tablespoons (16g)
- Cornstarch 2 teaspoons (3g)
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon
- Water 1 teaspoon
- Cake Flour 2½ cups + 2 Tablespoons (315g)
- Baking Powder ½ teaspoon
- Salt 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon
- Chocolate Chips 2 cups (336g)
- Chopped Nuts 1 cup (125g)
- First whisk together the warm aquafaba, flax and cornstarch and set aside
- Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder
- Combine the baking soda with the water and whisk smooth
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper
- In the work bowl on an electric mixer combine the soft yet cool vegan butter with both sugars and cream on medium to high speed until light & fluffy
- This usually takes 3-5 minutes while stopping to scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl often
- Add the aquafaba mixture while continuing to mix on medium speed, then whip on high speed for 10 seconds to emulsify
- Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl again
- Now add half of the sifted flour mixture mixing on low speed just to combine and then add the baking soda solution mixing to combine
- Now add the rest of the flour and mix just until combined
- Add the chopped nuts & chocolate chips and mix well while adding the vanilla extract last
- Scoop the cookie dough with a 2ounce cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined sheet pan spaced 2½ inches apart (one 12" x 18" sheet pan bakes 12 cookies perfectly)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or golden browned
Freeze raw dough balls for up to 2 months in a ziploc bag
- Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Light Brown Sugar ¾ (150g)
- Aquafaba ¼ cup (60ml)
- Ground Flax Meal 2 Tablespoons (16g)
- Cornstarch 2 teaspoons (3g)
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon
- Water 1 teaspoon
- Bread Flour 2¾ cups (357g)
- Baking Powder ½ teaspoon
- Salt 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- Chocolate Chips 2 cups (336g)
- Chopped Nuts 1 cup (125g)
- First whisk together the warm aquafaba, flax and cornstarch and set aside
- Sift together the bread flour, salt and baking powder
- Combine the baking soda with the water and whisk smooth
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper
- Melt the vegan butter over medium heat and then transfer it to a large mixing bowl and add both sugars and the salt and whisk smooth
- Add the aquafaba mixture along with the baking soda solution and the vanilla extract and whisk everything smooth
- Add the flour all at once and mix just until combined
- Add the chopped nuts & chocolate chips and mix well
- This dough must be chilled for about 15 minutes before you are able to scoop the batter
- Once it is chilled, scoop the cookie dough with a 2ounce cookie scoop or by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined sheet pan spaced 2½ inches apart (one 12" x 18" sheet pan bakes 12 cookies perfectly)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or golden browned
Freeze raw dough balls for up to 2 months in a ziploc bag
Just made the Original Toll House Variety. Halved the chocolate chips, as 2 cups was a little too much for me, it was perfection. This is the BEST recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies if you have the time and ingredients. Taste just like the Toll House I remember, I am 10 years vegan.
Will be making these again… and again… and again… !!!!
Thank you Gretchen!
Awesome!! I totally agree on too much chips! Although this was the original recipe. I have always done about half as well!
Which vegan butter do you recommend? I have a family member that is lactose intolerant. I use the Country Crock plant base butter. No matter what I do the cookies spread like a dessert plate. I chill, freeze for 30 minutes still spreads. I have read to add more flour and use all brown sugar instead of white and/or brown sugar.
What do you think about Xanthan gum to thicken it up some?
I love Earth Balance the most for all the things, but I am lucky to have a friend in the restaurant business and I can order a case of vegan butter (called Gold ‘n’ Sweet) directly through her
Country crock is primarily an oil based butter so I am not surprised that happens. Are you able to get a different brand? Maybe spring for the Earth Balance once and do a test ~ I think you will be so surprised as the to the difference it makes
(always use sticks NOT tubs though)
This past Sunday, I made the original version Toll House cookie. Knowing a few people cannot eat chocolate, I replaced the chips with dried apricots. I got the idea from searching the web as a chip alternative. They are relatively lower in sugar too. I made some with pecans some without for those with nut allergies. I put about 3 – 4 chunks in each cookie. They were a big hit! Awesome cookie and a little different. On the ingredients card, I credit Gretchen’s Vegan Bakery so that others may go to your website to get the recipe from the source.
Gretchen,
I made the “Thick and Chewy” for my husband’s 70th birthday party—he didn’t want cake. The party was at a cigar shop close by where he and his buddies like to go. All the guys, except one and myself, aren’t vegan. They devoured them!
Thanks for the recipe,
Mel Daniels
WOOHOO! yeah!! awesome
Thanks for the recipes! I used the original and it came out really good, although way more salty and not as sweet as I remember?? I only put 1/2 tsp salt too!! Am I idolizing the recipe from my youth?? Anyway, I have a question. If you use vanilla powder instead of extract in a recipe, do you make any adjustments, e.g. take out a tsp of flour?
Thanks for all you do, your recipes are the best.
Thanks!! Some vegan butter is way more salty than others, so definitely adjust to your liking next time. I would not make any changes if omitting the liquid form of vanilla
THANK YOU!!!! I am a cookie monster (having grown up on cookies in the US!) and as I gradually make the transition to vegan baking alternatives, I was really worried about finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Well, that’s sorted haha! I tried the thick and chewy version and omg, they are amazing. I changed the sugar rations to what I usually use: 1/2 c white sugar, 1/2 c light brown sugar, 1/2 c dark brown sugar. I’m in the UK so chose to use Naturli Block vbutter and I used a combo of oat milk and darker choc chips. I weighed the flour as instructed and it was definitely less than the US cups noted by volume. They are slightly different, less melt-in-the-mouth, than the classics I used to make, but still SO incredibly more-ish. Even a few days later, they’ve retained their texture. I will proudly make this recipe my new gold standard and I’m so grateful for your clarity in the article above, thank you!
Excellent! Thank you so much for this review! It is very much appreciated!